Making legislation that will cater for the elderly, widows and vulnerable people in society has been identified as the only way to reduce poverty in the country.
This was the call made at the first edition of DAKA Foundation symposium & cash gift for Widows in Ibadan South East/Ibadan North East federal constituency.
The programme tagged “Nigeria Youth and the Imperatives of Good Governance”, was held at Mapo Hall during the week under the auspices of DAKA Foundation owned by Dr. Kazeem Adesina Abidikugu.
Speaking at the symposium, Dr. Abidikugu, who is aspiring for a seat at the House of Representative, to represent Ibadan South East/North East federal constituency under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, disclosed that championing legislations that will make life meaningful for the widows, elderly and vulnerable in the society is part of factors prompted his aspiration.
Talking about the objectives of his foundation, Abidikugu said that DAKA Foundation was established to assist the people that are in need in different sectors, education, health, empowerment among others.
He said the reason for the symposium is to sensitize and reawaken the interest of the youth in engagement and participation in political process and governance in Nigeria.
According to him “reason for today’s symposium which is the first of its kind by DAKA Foundation is that youth in politics is a very dominating topic in Nigeria now and statistic has revealed that Nigerian youths constitute over 130 million out of a population of over 200 million people, and if you find out number of youth in governance you will realize that there is a discordance between the two, therefore, we realize that we need to sensitise the youth on engagement and participation in political process and governance in the country.
“The second aspect of the programme which is giving out cash to the widows is to contribute our quota towards raising the standard of living of our people, and at DAKA Foundation, we do things based on need, that is what people need at this very moment, and that is what informed our decision to give about 600 widows cash gift from Ibadan South East/North East federal constituency,” Dr. Abidikugu said.
While speaking, Chairman, Ibadan South East Local Government, Hon. Emmanuel Alawode, appreciated DAKA Foundation and Dr. Kazeem Abidikugu for giving back to the society and complimenting the effort of the state government to improve the state’s economy.
Hon. Alawode described the step taken by DAKA Foundation as a signal to other well meaning people in the society to follow suit by remembering their sources and supporting the government.
The council boss emphasized that the responsibilities of governance are enormous; hence the need for the well-meaning individuals in the state to join the government to put a smile on the faces of the less privileged ones.
Alawode assured that Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration in Oyo State will not relent in giving hope to the downtrodden and bring the state back to prosperity status.
Speaking on the theme, ‘Nigeria Youth and the Imperatives of Good Governance’, Prof. Olumide Olajide from the University of Ibadan, Department of Adult Education and Community Development, lamented that youths in the country have been not given opportunity to demonstrate their ingenuity as far as good governance is concerned.
The event was attended by various youth organizations in the state and members of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ibadan South East and North Local Governments.
Packaged by Kunle Gazali
